Naked
by DoctorTheTwitch
Summary: When and why aren't so important, but rather the thoughts running through Magnus' head while Alec paints. Oneshot.


**A/N: Based on a prompt Latest From The Asylum showed me that was simply begging for Malec. Go check out LaFTA's version for something a little spunkier and a little more...yellow.**

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_Prompt: _

_"Imagine Person A of your OTP painting Person B's fingernails. It's a little lumpy, they've missed a few spots, and they seem to be just as likely to paint the finger as they are the nail. Person B could probably do better themselves, but they'd rather let Person A do it, because the look of concentration on their face is absolutely adorable."_

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Magnus felt naked. He had no problems with being naked physically, but _feeling_ naked is something entirely different. It wasn't the most uncomfortable thing he'd ever experienced, not by a long shot, but it wasn't pleasant. Alec's hand on his, however, was very pleasant. The rough dryness of Alec's calloused fingers holding his was pleasant contrast to the smooth wetness spreading over the tips of his fingers; the small pucker of concentration in Alec's brow was a pleasant replacement for the pain or confusion he saw there too often; the soft music was a pleasant addition to the dimmed lamps around the open apartment and the flickering fire in the grate.

"Magnus, I know you're a large proponent of mood lighting, but I kind of need light to work." Alec didn't look up as he spoke, too engrossed in Magnus' fingernails. The lights went up gently as Magnus bit his lip to hide the smile threatening to erupt at being caught, only slightly surprised to feel his face warm. He didn't blush anywhere near as often as Alec, but it still happened; contrary to what some people thought, he was still a person. He didn't blush at all the things Alec did, of course. Sex, for instance, barely phased him whereas Alec would turn the color of a tomato if certain words were even mentioned in front of company; it was slightly different when they were alone, of course. The catalog of blush-inducing words thinned from the volume a bible to a leaflet when it was just the two of them, but it was still somewhat surprising to see what words would produce his favorite blush. It delighted Magnus to no end that something as simple as "condom" would turn Alec red when he could get away with much more explicit-

"Magnus, please?" Alec looked up this time, only slight exasperation seeping into his tone. The fire behind them reflected in his blue eyes perfectly; twin flames, a distinct orange tonight, jumping and flickering in between the deep blue that threatened to extinguish them as easily as water.

"Sorry, love," Magnus smiled a little as he willed the lights brighter once again. He let it fade as Alec turned his attention back to the hand he held closer to his face than was strictly necessary. He'd finished most of the first hand, only having the pinky of Magnus' right hand left. The little cap-and-brush applicator was clutched delicately but firmly in his fingers-Magnus imagined he held it like he would hold a stele-and his face was set in concentration almost as thick as when he was aiming a shot from his bow.

Little bottles of half-opened nail polish were spread on the rug where they sat and the coffee table next to them as Alec insisted on changing colors after every stroke of the brush. _ One color just doesn't suit you Magnus; you've told me that yourself._ He put down the fluorescent green he'd just spread across Magnus' pinky nail (more like across the side of his pinky finger, but Magnus couldn't care less at the moment) in favor of a matte midnight purple, the little crease between his eyebrows deepening as he tried to twist the cap open without letting go of Magnus' hand or smudging any of the drying polish.

Magnus could help him of course, but as soon as Alec had approached him (almost half an hour ago now) he'd decided that tonight he would be a little selfish. By now he had convinced himself it would be a crime to waste the overwhelmingly adorable look on Alec's face by just magicking the caps off.

"Magnus, if I need to ask you one more time..." The lights went up again and Magnus couldn't help the smile that threatened to break his face or the blush that threatened to burn it. _Twice in five minutes_, Magnus thought idly, tilting his head to get a better look at Alec, _that must be some kind of record_. It wasn't though, not really. He hadn't blushed at a dirty joke in decades but with Alec there, all it took was a look. Magnus didn't blush at sex or being naked. He didn't blush at other's nakedness, and he didn't blush at its mention.

But with Alec there he would blush when he was caught for staring too long and blush when he wasn't. When he saw the strip of sunlight coming through the curtains land across Alec's back. When he forgot that he was supposed to be having a conversation with Isabelle or Jace or Simon because Alec was standing in the same room. And when Alec was bent over his hand in concentration, painting his fingernails in tiny, messy, multi-colored stripes that ran together and smudged and didn't match at all, he just couldn't help it.

Even though Alec still had one more hand to paint, Magnus didn't feel naked anymore. The absence of polish and color on his nails no longer made him feel uncomfortable or exposed as it had when he'd stripped the glittering pink off for Alec half an hour ago.

"I love you, Alec."

"Well, obviously, because you trusted me enough with your nail polish collection." Alec laughed a little, not looking up from the electric blue he was now dabbing across Magnus' left thumb. Magnus laughed along, feeling the sudden, irrational urge to wipe at his eyes.

_I love you, because I don't feel naked anymore._


End file.
